Daniel 5:17
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. | In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him. | Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedAt Belshazzar's feast a hand wrote on the palace wall, and the king's wise men could not read it. The king offered Daniel scarlet clothing, a gold chain, and the place of third ruler if he could read and explain it. Daniel turned down the rewards but agreed to read the writing and give its meaning. Daniel 5:5Daniel 5:8Daniel 5:16Daniel 5:17
SpeakingDaniel, a man of Judah taken captive to Babylon, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made master of the wise men. Daniel 5:11Daniel 5:12Daniel 5:13Daniel overview
ToBelshazzar king of Babylon, at the feast he held with his lords, wives and concubines. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:2Daniel 5:17
Daniel tells the king to keep his gifts or give them to someone else. Even so, he will read the writing and make its meaning known. He then rebukes the king's pride and explains that God has numbered his kingdom and finished it, that the king is weighed and found wanting, and that his kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Daniel 5:17Daniel 5:22Daniel 5:23Daniel 5:26Daniel 5:27Daniel 5:28
The scene is the banquet house of the king's palace in Babylon. Daniel 5:5Daniel 5:10Daniel overview
The eventsThe events took place on the last night of Belshazzar's reign, when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. Darius the Median then took the kingdom. Daniel 5:30Daniel 5:31Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse does not give Daniel's reason for refusing the rewards. It shows that he turned down the king's gifts yet still gave the message in full, a message of rebuke and judgment. Other servants of God also refused gifts from rulers, as Elisha did with Naaman (2 Kings 5:16) and Abram did with the king of Sodom (Genesis 14:23). Daniel 5:17Daniel 5:22Daniel 5:262 Kings 5:16Genesis 14:23
In the whole of ScriptureThe chapter shows the book's theme that the most high God rules in the kingdom of men and appoints over it whom he will. That night God judged the proud king who had praised idols and drunk from the temple vessels. Daniel 5:21Daniel 5:23Daniel 5:30Daniel overview
For readersPeter told Simon that the gift of God may not be purchased with money (Acts 8:20). The psalmist resolved to speak of God's testimonies before kings and not be ashamed (Psalms 119:46), as Daniel spoke plainly before Belshazzar. Acts 8:20Psalms 119:46Daniel 5:17Daniel 5:22
- I will read aloudקְרָא
The word means to call, proclaim, or read aloud. Daniel promised to read the writing out before the king, which the wise men could not do. He then spoke the words aloud in verse 25. Strong's H7123Daniel 5:8Daniel 5:25
- interpretationפְּשַׁר
This is the word for interpretation that the king asked for again and again in this chapter. Daniel gives it in verses 26-28. Strong's H6591Daniel 5:16Daniel 5:26
Takeaway
Daniel would not take the king's rewards, yet he spoke God's word plainly to a proud king. The king gave him the rewards anyway in verse 29. That same night Belshazzar was slain and the kingdom passed to Darius the Median. Daniel 5:17Daniel 5:29Daniel 5:30Daniel 5:31
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Aramaic words
This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.
| English | Aramaic | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in then | בֵּאדַ֜יִן | be-DA-yin | H0116 | thenאֱדַ֫יִן (e.da.yin) then, afterwards, thereupon, from that time Aramaic of az (אָז "then" H0227A) |
| [was] replying | עָנֵ֣ה | 'a-NEH | H6032 | to answerעֲנָה (a.nah) 1) to answer, respond 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to answer, make reply 1a2) to respond |
| Daniel | דָנִיֵּ֗אל | da-ni-YEL | H1841H | Danielדָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל (da.niy.yel) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.8.2 § Daniel = "God is my judge" 1) the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel 1a) also, 'Belteshazzar' (H01095 or H01096) |
| and [say] saying | וְאָמַר֙ | ve-'a-MAR | H0560 | to sayאֲמַר (a.mar) (P'al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate Aramaic of a.mar (אָמַר "to say" H0559) |
| before | קֳדָ֣ם | ko-DAM | H6925 | beforeקֳדָם (qo.dam) 1) before, in front of 1a) before 1b) from before |
| king the | מַלְכָּ֔א | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| gifts your | מַתְּנָתָךְ֙ | ma-te-na-toKh | H4978 | giftמַתְּנָא (mat.t.na) gift Aramaic of mat.ta.nah (מַתָּנָה "gift" H4979) |
| let them be | לֶֽהֶוְיָ֔ן | le-hev-YAN | H1934 | to beהֲוָא (ha.va) 1) to come to pass, become, be 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to come to pass 1a2) to come into being, arise, become, come to be 1a2a) to let become known (with participle of knowing) 1a3) to be |
| and rewards your | וּנְבָ֥זְבְּיָתָ֖ךְ | u-ne-VA-ze-be-ya-TAKH | H5023 | rewardנְבִזְבָּה (ne.viz.bah) reward |
| to another | לְאָחֳרָ֣ן | le-'o-cho-RAN | H0321 | anotherאׇחֳרָן (o.cho.ran) other, another Aramaic of a.cher (אַחֵר "another" H0312) |
| give! | הַ֑ב | Hav | H3052 | to giveיְהַב (ye.hav) 1) to give, provide 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to give 1a2) to place, lay (foundations) 1b) (Hithp'al) 1b1) to be given 1b2) to be paid |
| nevertheless | בְּרַ֗ם | be-RAM | H1297 | neverthelessבְּרַם (be.ram) only, nevertheless, but |
| writing the | כְּתָבָא֙ | ke-ta-VA' | H3792 | inscriptionכְּתָב (ke.tav) 1) a writing 1a) writing, inscription 1b) written decree, written requirement |
| I will read aloud | אֶקְרֵ֣א | 'ek-RE' | H7123 | to readקְרָא (qe.ra) 1) to call, read aloud, read out, shout 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to call, proclaim 1a2) to read aloud, read out 1b)(Ithp'el) to be summoned, be called |
| to king the | לְמַלְכָּ֔א | le-mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| and interpretation the | וּפִשְׁרָ֖א | u-fish-RA' | H6591 | interpretationפְּשַׁר (pe.shar) interpretation (of dream) Aramaic of pit.ron (פִּתְרוֹן "interpretation" H6623) |
| I will make known to him | אֲהוֹדְעִנֵּֽהּ׃ | 'a-hod-'i-NEH | H3046 | to knowיְדַע (ye.da) 1) to know 1a) (P'al) to know 1b) (Aphel) to let someone know, communicate, inform, cause to know |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.